Press Release: Commissioner Ferrero-Waldner to visit Kazakhstan 19/20 October

The Commissioner for External Relations and European Neighbourhood Policy, Benita Ferrero-Waldner will travel to Kazakhstan on a bilateral visit on 19-20 October 2006. In Astana she looks forward to meeting President Nursultan Nazarbaev, Foreign Minister Kasymzhomart Tokaev, and other leading members of the government, and in Almaty she will meet leaders of opposition parties, as well as representatives of NGOs. The visit comes at a moment when EU Enlargement and the development of the European Neighbourhood Policy are bringing Central Asia closer to the EU. Important security and economic interests argue for a higher profile of this region in European external policy. The European Union is seeking to strengthen its partnership with the countries concerned, and a new strategy for Central Asia is likely to be adopted in 2007.